Mother accused in body dumping donated vehicles linked to son's death

By
Mitch Hotts, The Macomb Daily

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

The former nurse accused of dismembering her son’s body lied to a judge about her assets during an arraignment and also donated two cars linked to the crime to a Detroit-based charity in the days before her arrest.

Those new developments emerged Tuesday as Donna Kay Scrivo was ordered to undergo a psychological assessment after she allegedly threatened to hurt herself while spending the weekend in jail.

Her bond was increased from $100,000 to $250,000 cash during a bond hearing Tuesday in 40th District Court after prosecutors filed an emergency motion when authorities discovered she had misrepresented her finances.

“The people need a very high bond in this case,” Prosecutor Eric Smith said in a news release. “This defendant represents an obvious danger to the community and to herself, and is a significant flight risk.”

Scrivo, who turned 60 on Tuesday, is charged with disinterment and mutilation of a dead body, a 10-year felony, and removing a dead body without a medical examiner’s permission, a 1-year misdemeanor.

Police allege she cut up the body of her 32-year-old mentally disabled son Ramsay Scrivo, placed the parts in several trash bags and then dumped the bags on the side of the road in three locations in rural St. Clair County.

When Donna Scrivo was arraigned Monday in front of Judge Mark Fratarcangeli, she indicated she was financially indigent and wanted a court-appointed attorney.

In Tuesday’s hearing, the judge ruled Scrivo “had not been truthful” during the arraignment, according to the prosecutor’s news release.

“It was disclosed during (Tuesday’s) hearing that Scrivo owns a home in St. Clair Shores valued at approximately $150,000, received two insurance payments this past summer totalling $175,000, owns a 2012 Ford Escape valued at $19,000 and withdrew $8,100 from bank four days prior to her arrest,” prosecutors said in the release.

Court officials on Tuesday said Clinton Township-based defense lawyer Mark Haddad was her attorney. It was not clear if he had been retained or appointed by the judge.

At a news conference on Monday, St. Clair County Sheriff Tim Donnellon and St. Clair Shores Interim Police Chief Todd Woodcox said the investigation into Ramsay Scrivo’s death is ongoing. Detectives are waiting for toxicology test results as part of the autopsy process to determine exactly how he died.

Police have declined to comment on whether trauma was found on the recovered body parts. They have secured the instrument used to dismember the body but have not publicly disclosed what it was. Authorities also have not ruled out an accomplice may have assisted Scrivo.

Meanwhile, the head of the Mother Waddles Car Donation Program on Tuesday told reporters Donna Scrivo called to donate a Ford Focus on Monday, Jan. 27, according to a WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) report. That’s the same day she filed a missing persons report on her son with the St. Clair Shores Police Department.

On Thursday, Jan. 30, she called Mother Waddles again to donate a Chevy Blazer, WJBK-TV (Channel 2) reported. Earlier that day, witnesses saw her allegedly tossing trash bags containing her son’s remains out the window of her Blazer in St. Clair County.

The news reports show she transferred the title of the Blazer from her late husband’s name to her name on Jan. 31.

Investigators secured search warrants for the vehicles. At Monday’s hearing, St. Clair Shores Detective Margaret Eidt said blood and cleansing chemicals were found in the Blazer and in the Scrivo household.

In the search warrants, police said they were looking for evidence of saliva or blood that may have been in either vehicle as a “result of the intentional death of Ramsay David Scrivo,” WXYZ reported.

Also Tuesday, the prosecutor’s office said Scrivo was rushed to a local hospital from the Macomb County Jail in Mount Clemens on Saturday after complaining of pain and talking about hurting herself. She currently is housed in the mental health ward of the jail.

Scrivo was referred to the Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Ann Arbor for a psychological evaluation on competency and criminal responsibility. Her upcoming court dates are suspended until the evaluations are complete, Smith said in the release.